SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sitting behind the soundboard at ESPN Radio Syracuse, you'll see Seth Goldberg filling a number of roles. He's not only an on-air talk show host, but he's also a producer and engineer for In the Booth with Dan D'Uva.
The 23-year-old says he has known for a long time this is what he wanted to do.
"I knew probably from middle school," Goldberg said during an interview on July 21 at ESPN Radio Syracuse's studios in Armory Square. "My parents were both in the business. They both worked in TV. I’ve grown up around this industry, so I knew it was what I wanted to do."
When Goldberg was accepted to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, his dilemma was what craft of sports media to focus on. While Goldberg loved doing play-by-play for Syracuse University, he also shared the same passion for sports talk radio. Goldberg credits Newhouse for focusing on each task.
"It’s a matter of trying to balance and find a way to do both," Goldberg said. "I think that’s what I’m working on doing."
During Goldberg's time as an undergraduate student at Newhouse, he interned with NBC for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. His responsibilities were to log speed skating events. Those segments then aired on NBC.
"It was crazy to see the scale of what they had and what they were all doing," Goldberg said. "When you factor everything together, they were doing like 15 football games a day."
Without NBC, and without Newhouse for that matter, Goldberg never would have connected with Andrew Catalon. Goldberg met Catalon, a Newhouse alumnus, during his internship with NBC.
"On my computer at the time, I had a big Otto Fathead right on the back of my laptop," Goldberg said. "It started a relationship. I found out that he moved to New Jersey. I found out that he was living a town over from me. I go home and I’ve seen him for breakfast a couple of times."
The Newhouse connection started a working friendship that still exists today. Catalon is currently a play-by-play announcer for CBS.
Goldberg has held previous internships with CBS TV and Radio in New York. Before getting there, however, he credits Newhouse for getting the hands-on experience.
"You certainly learn a lot of the nuts and bolts," Goldberg said. "Producing a basketball game or hosting a football game, you actually go and put it into practice."
All of the experience has paid off for Goldberg to get to ESPN Radio Syracuse. But, that isn't his end goal. He hopes to get back home to New Jersey.
"It just so happens that for me home happens to be the number one media market in the country, so it might be a little more difficult," Goldberg said. "That just means putting in some work and getting to New York."
"It makes you push yourself a little bit more."
A full transcription of my interview with Seth is below. Please click here for the full audio interview.
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Q: What did you learn at Newhouse that has been the biggest takeaway in the real world?
A: Honestly, I think a lot of it was working at a WAER, a Z89, working in those positions. I mean the classwork certainly you learn how to write, you learn how to voice things. You certainly learn a lot of the nuts and bolts. But actually, going and putting into practice and producing a basketball game or hosting a football game or doing sidelines, or whatever it may be, hosting a talk show.
You know you actually go and put it into practice. That was probably the most important thing. Obviously, being in that environment you’ve got the school that’s known as the top communications school, right? And so, you go to AER or you go to Z and you got the kids that want to do it the most. It’s crazy competitive to get the next opportunity to do more and more. It makes you push yourself a little bit more.
You know you actually go and put it into practice. That was probably the most important thing. Obviously, being in that environment you’ve got the school that’s known as the top communications school, right? And so, you go to AER or you go to Z and you got the kids that want to do it the most. It’s crazy competitive to get the next opportunity to do more and more. It makes you push yourself a little bit more.
Q: I understand you did play-by-play for sports when you were at Syracuse for undergrad.
A: Yup.
Q: Where did you improve your skills for play-by-play?
A: That’s a good question. A lot of play-by-play guys, you hear them say, “Oh when I was a kid I did it off my TV.” I never did that. Maybe that’s why I’m doing talk right now instead of play-by-play. You know, I never really did that, so for me it was more Z89. I was going out to high school games for Friday night football games and reporting on it. When I went, I would make tapes. Every drive, I would do a full game. I would make a tape. I would get it critiqued. I would see what I needed to do.
I would just work my way up there and then I got cleared to do that and I did high school football and I was doing it the end of my junior year. The first half of my senior year got tapes good enough, got to go do a couple of games for SU as practice, and finally got a game for SU. Same with basketball, I did tapes for the women’s games. I would just keep going and keep going. Then I would do them on Z for real and then I would pass them along to try to get them for AER, and end up doing a few games there. For me, it was real, in-person practice. I was not a big, sit in front of my TV and pretend to be Joe Buck calling the world series. That was not what I was doing.
I would just work my way up there and then I got cleared to do that and I did high school football and I was doing it the end of my junior year. The first half of my senior year got tapes good enough, got to go do a couple of games for SU as practice, and finally got a game for SU. Same with basketball, I did tapes for the women’s games. I would just keep going and keep going. Then I would do them on Z for real and then I would pass them along to try to get them for AER, and end up doing a few games there. For me, it was real, in-person practice. I was not a big, sit in front of my TV and pretend to be Joe Buck calling the world series. That was not what I was doing.
Q: When did you know you wanted to get into sports media? Was it before you got to Newhouse?
A: Yeah. I knew probably from middle school. My parents were both in the business, they both worked in TV. I’ve grown up around this industry so I knew it was what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do sports and not news. I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I think once I got to Syracuse, or when I was heading into Syracuse it was a matter of figuring out what I wanted to do. I thought that I was only going to go and only do play-by-play. Then all of a sudden, I’m doing a talk show on Z89 and I’m like “oh wait, this is a lot of fun!”
I got two hours and I got to do what I want. You kind of shift. And then you do play-by-play and you’re like but this is also fun. So now it’s a matter of trying to balance and find a way to do both and I think that’s what I’m working on doing. I knew I wanted to do sports media, whatever, probably from middle school on. But honing it down is what happened at SU.
I got two hours and I got to do what I want. You kind of shift. And then you do play-by-play and you’re like but this is also fun. So now it’s a matter of trying to balance and find a way to do both and I think that’s what I’m working on doing. I knew I wanted to do sports media, whatever, probably from middle school on. But honing it down is what happened at SU.
Q: I believe you interned with CBS.
A: Yes
Q: You also worked with the Olympics for NBC.
A: I did.
Q: Can you expand on that? How was it working for NBC Olympics?
A: Oh, that was the coolest experience! And that was something I would not have had without Syracuse, without Newhouse. They put an awesome program together. I mentioned my dad worked in the business, when he was younger he went to three Olympics as somebody from NBC. So forever I was like “I want to go, I want to be at one.” To be able to do it in college, it was incredible. I was just at one venue, I was at one sports arena. And that was enough. What they were doing there is comparable to what you would be doing at NFL game. And it was one in fifteen? It was crazy to see the scale of what they had and what they were all doing. Really they were doing, when you factor everything together, they were doing like fifteen football games a day. And they were trying to package it into 24 hours on a TV station.
I worked with a bunch of people from the Golf Channel, that was who my production team was. You meet them and all of a sudden, you’re watching the US Open and you’re like “that’s the reporter who was at my venue.” So, it was really cool to go and be there. It didn’t hurt that at the winter Olympics it was 70 degrees and sunny all the time. It was fantastic.
I worked with a bunch of people from the Golf Channel, that was who my production team was. You meet them and all of a sudden, you’re watching the US Open and you’re like “that’s the reporter who was at my venue.” So, it was really cool to go and be there. It didn’t hurt that at the winter Olympics it was 70 degrees and sunny all the time. It was fantastic.
Q: How important would you say going to Newhouse with networking was for you?
A: I think it’s huge. I really do. They’re a couple guys and a couple of things that I have done that I don’t think I would’ve done without Syracuse. Obviously, the Olympics. One of the play-by-play broadcasters at my venue is Andrew Catalon, an alum. On my computer at the time I had a big Otto fat head right on the back of my laptop. My laptop is sitting on the table and he comes up to me and says “Who’s laptop?” So I said, “Well it’s mine.” And he said, “Well I went to Syracuse!” And it started a relationship. I found out that he moved to New Jersey. Found out that he was living a town over from me. And I go home and I’ve seen him for breakfast a couple of times.
It starts a relationship and that’s happened with a couple of other people. It’s a connection that if I wasn’t a Syracuse kid, yeah he could’ve been nice and said hi or whatever. I don’t know that I’m sending people tapes if I don’t have the kind of connection with them.
It starts a relationship and that’s happened with a couple of other people. It’s a connection that if I wasn’t a Syracuse kid, yeah he could’ve been nice and said hi or whatever. I don’t know that I’m sending people tapes if I don’t have the kind of connection with them.
Q: How did you get the job here at ESPN Radio in Syracuse?
A: I threw a couple of my internships, you know I met some people, and one of them said “I know the owner of this company that has some radio stations, why don’t you go up there and meet with them?” I was not expecting to really walk out with a job or anything and this was when I was a junior at SU. I walk in and he’s like “how would you like to come on part-time and screen calls?” Second semester my junior year, I was coming in like two days a week. I came back fall semester senior year, I was doing three days a week. Second semester of my senior year, I frontloaded my schedule. I had classes Monday and Tuesday. And that was it. I took like two or three online classes and I had a class Monday and a class Tuesday.
So, I was able to come in three days a week. And you know, I was here and available to do whatever. And at the end of my senior year they said “Well we got this Yankees show, how would you like to do that?” So I hosted the Yankees show last year and then the Yankees end. And then that turned into hosting Syracuse basketball and then that ends and I’m doing the Yankees again. I’m doing a talk show with Dan D’Uva. It’s been a nice cycle and a nice growth. Yeah, I’m excited I think there are really good things going on here.
So, I was able to come in three days a week. And you know, I was here and available to do whatever. And at the end of my senior year they said “Well we got this Yankees show, how would you like to do that?” So I hosted the Yankees show last year and then the Yankees end. And then that turned into hosting Syracuse basketball and then that ends and I’m doing the Yankees again. I’m doing a talk show with Dan D’Uva. It’s been a nice cycle and a nice growth. Yeah, I’m excited I think there are really good things going on here.
Q: What is your next step? How long do you plan on staying here? What is the ultimate goal for you?
A: That’s a great question. I don’t know what the next step is, to be completely honest. I think you’ll talk to ten different people about that and get ten different answers. As far as “Oh you’re in market #90, how far do you jump?” I think that you will get a lot of different answers if you ask different people. So I’m not sure there. But, the ultimate goal for me is to get back home. I think that’s a goal you would see common.
I think if you walked around Syracuse and you found a kid from Chicago, they’d want to get back to Chicago. If you find a kid from LA, they want to do that. It just so happens that for me home just so happens to be the #1 media market in the country, so it might be a little more difficult. But you know ultimately, that’s what I would love to do. I would love to be able to get back home, be with family, and do everything I want to do. That just means putting in some work and getting to New York.
I think if you walked around Syracuse and you found a kid from Chicago, they’d want to get back to Chicago. If you find a kid from LA, they want to do that. It just so happens that for me home just so happens to be the #1 media market in the country, so it might be a little more difficult. But you know ultimately, that’s what I would love to do. I would love to be able to get back home, be with family, and do everything I want to do. That just means putting in some work and getting to New York.
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